Weird fish request...

Brandon1652 · 05/24/2010, 06:31 PM

I posted in the reef fish forum (got no responses) and in my club forum but no one knew, so hopefully here I can get some advice.

I am looking for a fish or invert that will eat soft coral (any and all) but leave stony corals alone.

The reason for this is that I got some clove polyps that hitch hiked into my stony reef and have started growing like weeds. I would remove the rocks they are on, but I have several SPS colonies encrusted on those rocks as well.

Someone here hopefully will have a suggestion, other than that I am out of luck.

Thanks.

barbianj · 05/24/2010, 09:00 PM

I don't know about a fish, but my Kenya tree totally wiped out the clove polyps that I had. It only touched a few of the cloves, but the whole colony withered away. What about placing a stinging coral near them to keep them in check?

AquaKnight · 05/24/2010, 09:20 PM

Stony as in strictly SPS, or there's chalices, acans, etc in there as well?

Brandon1652 · 05/24/2010, 10:14 PM

I have a couple chalices, but they can be moved. All the rest are SPS.

AngelAddict · 05/25/2010, 04:48 AM

I'd say a large angel would do it. Most are SPS friendly if you feed them enough, what size tank is it? 120g? You could add a juvi/small adult large angel in there for a little while, just keep an eye out.

Brandon1652 · 05/25/2010, 07:53 AM

I have never done any research on angels before. Which are the most SPS friendly, and would be good for a while in a 120g?

LisaD · 05/25/2010, 03:34 PM

aren't some angels SPS safe, but real bad nippers of LPS?

wickedfish · 05/25/2010, 03:58 PM

I have a similar problem in my F.O. I brought LR from a a fellow reefer who had given up subsequently had a few aiptasia that I thought I treated with Joes and purple milky redsea crap, and now tadah I have these guys growing everywhere. I am going to do a total breakdown on the weekend but wanted to know if anyone has beaten these anenome's and how i got them out of my display by sheer persistence.

barbianj · 05/25/2010, 04:55 PM

Can't you just manually remove as many of the clove polyps that you can, and just hit the remaining with kalk? It's not like they're gsp. That would be a problem. Finding a fish to temporarily reside in your tank and eat only a certain type of coral is going to be a tough one. Fish don't always do what you want them to do.

Mental1 · 05/25/2010, 04:56 PM

what I did to eliminate pulsing xenia from my reef was to cut it down and then cover the stubs with two part epoxy that I could later remove. I have no xenia left in my 180g.

Brandon1652 · 05/25/2010, 06:10 PM

I am still as of yet undecided. Every attempt at manual removal and "reef napalm" have only seemed to cause the clove polyps to pop up in new places. It is concentrated on a few, albeit large, rocks so I may just remove them and let them dry out. I will try and remove as much of the encrusted SPS colonies first and hope for the best. Thanks for the input everyone.

mr&mrsfish · 07/04/2010, 09:10 PM

Any update? I'm out of solutions for my clove problem.

05/24/2010, 06:31 PM	#1
Brandon1652 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Norman, OK Posts: 262	Weird fish request... I posted in the reef fish forum (got no responses) and in my club forum but no one knew, so hopefully here I can get some advice. I am looking for a fish or invert that will eat soft coral (any and all) but leave stony corals alone. The reason for this is that I got some clove polyps that hitch hiked into my stony reef and have started growing like weeds. I would remove the rocks they are on, but I have several SPS colonies encrusted on those rocks as well. Someone here hopefully will have a suggestion, other than that I am out of luck. Thanks. __________________ ~Brandon. Current Tank Info: 120 Rimless Reef 36 Column Anemone

05/24/2010, 09:00 PM	#2
barbianj Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Port Washington Posts: 968	I don't know about a fish, but my Kenya tree totally wiped out the clove polyps that I had. It only touched a few of the cloves, but the whole colony withered away. What about placing a stinging coral near them to keep them in check? __________________ Jerry Current Tank Info: Queen Trigger, Clown Tang, Goldheart, Blueline & Pinktail Triggers, Emperor & Blueface Angels, Aussie Tusk, Falco & Flame Hawks, Yellow Coris & Melanurus Wrasses

05/24/2010, 10:14 PM	#4
Brandon1652 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Norman, OK Posts: 262	I have a couple chalices, but they can be moved. All the rest are SPS. __________________ ~Brandon. Current Tank Info: 120 Rimless Reef 36 Column Anemone

05/25/2010, 07:53 AM	#6
Brandon1652 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Norman, OK Posts: 262	I have never done any research on angels before. Which are the most SPS friendly, and would be good for a while in a 120g? __________________ ~Brandon. Current Tank Info: 120 Rimless Reef 36 Column Anemone

05/25/2010, 04:55 PM	#9
barbianj Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Port Washington Posts: 968	Can't you just manually remove as many of the clove polyps that you can, and just hit the remaining with kalk? It's not like they're gsp. That would be a problem. Finding a fish to temporarily reside in your tank and eat only a certain type of coral is going to be a tough one. Fish don't always do what you want them to do. __________________ Jerry Current Tank Info: Queen Trigger, Clown Tang, Goldheart, Blueline & Pinktail Triggers, Emperor & Blueface Angels, Aussie Tusk, Falco & Flame Hawks, Yellow Coris & Melanurus Wrasses

05/24/2010, 09:20 PM	#3
AquaKnight Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Emerald Coast Posts: 2,030	Stony as in strictly SPS, or there's chalices, acans, etc in there as well?

05/25/2010, 04:48 AM	#5
AngelAddict Moved On Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 455	I'd say a large angel would do it. Most are SPS friendly if you feed them enough, what size tank is it? 120g? You could add a juvi/small adult large angel in there for a little while, just keep an eye out.

05/25/2010, 03:34 PM	#7
LisaD That's not a salmon Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: central North Carolina Posts: 6,986	aren't some angels SPS safe, but real bad nippers of LPS?

05/25/2010, 03:58 PM	#8
wickedfish Moved On Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Southbay Posts: 2,167	I have a similar problem in my F.O. I brought LR from a a fellow reefer who had given up subsequently had a few aiptasia that I thought I treated with Joes and purple milky redsea crap, and now tadah I have these guys growing everywhere. I am going to do a total breakdown on the weekend but wanted to know if anyone has beaten these anenome's and how i got them out of my display by sheer persistence.

05/25/2010, 04:56 PM	#10
Mental1 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 1,593	what I did to eliminate pulsing xenia from my reef was to cut it down and then cover the stubs with two part epoxy that I could later remove. I have no xenia left in my 180g. __________________ Sherri Current Tank Info: 400g - 65g DT and 180g peninsula DT both drop into basement. 5 tanks plus a QT in the basement.

05/25/2010, 06:10 PM	#11
Brandon1652 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Norman, OK Posts: 262	I am still as of yet undecided. Every attempt at manual removal and "reef napalm" have only seemed to cause the clove polyps to pop up in new places. It is concentrated on a few, albeit large, rocks so I may just remove them and let them dry out. I will try and remove as much of the encrusted SPS colonies first and hope for the best. Thanks for the input everyone. __________________ ~Brandon. Current Tank Info: 120 Rimless Reef 36 Column Anemone

07/04/2010, 09:10 PM	#12
mr&mrsfish Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Hamilton, OH Posts: 140	Any update? I'm out of solutions for my clove problem.

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